In kindergartens, preschools, day care centers and other similar places, children often are allowed or even required to take naps. Traditionally, children are provided with various types of mats or cots to sleep on. There are, however, several disadvantages of these traditional mats or cots.
Floor mats can be uncomfortable and can subject the children to cold air or drafts. Additionally, mats which are not liquidproof are subject to odors and generally unsanitary conditions as well as difficult and costly clean up problems should the child have a toilet accident ("wet the bed"). Mats which are liquidproof have their own sanitary problems in that liquid waste tends to run off the mat and onto the floor.
Traditional cots are costly and sometimes require assembly. The multiple parts, such as screws or other fasteners may come loose and present a hazard to the child. The child may also attempt to dismantle the cot if it has screws or other fasteners. Also, cot sleeping surfaces may become worn and may require replacing. Again, if the surface is not liquidproofed, sanitary and cleaning problems arise. If the surface is liquidproof, liquid waste may either form a puddle thereon or run off onto the floor. Further, traditional cots can be cumbersome and a teacher or caregiver cannot place or put away a large number of cots while at the same time watch and care for the children.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,234,977 and 4,234,978 issued to Snow disclose one attempt to alleviate these problems. Snow discloses a one or two piece molded cot having a contoured sleeping surface with four supporting inner walls which define a supporting cradle which is liquidproof. However, while Snow's cot may have some benefits, the cot is uncomfortable to sleep on and the above-mentioned significant sanitary problem still exists. Namely, Snow makes no provisions in the cot to collect and hold waste away from a child and/or mat. Further, Snow's cot does not have hand grips to facilitate movement of the cot by the children themselves. The present invention solves these and other problems and/or disadvantages by providing novel collecting and storing means in the cot's surface.